Choosing A Doctor
ap142193
Posts: 10 Member
My Story:
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So I am 30 (or will be in a week), newly married, and living in rural Arkansas. I have always bruised easily and been very cold natured, Three years ago my anxiety got pretty bad and I was put on celexa. In 2010 and 2011 I gained a little weight (from 140 to 170). In late 2011 / early 2012 I lost 25 lbs. In mid 2012 i was in a significant car wreck and and life got crazy for a few months and then I got married in October.
My husband finally convinced me to go to the doctor in May of 2012. My GP diagnosed me with Hypo and started treating me with .25 levothyroxine. My prescription gradually kept going up and a year later I was still having symptoms and I was tired of playing games with my GP, so I asked for a recommendation to an Endo.
Side note: When I got married I barely was able to wear my wedding dress that I bought in January of 2012 ( it was prob. at least 1 if not 2 sizes two small) because I had gained all my weight back and then some and was no longer able to successfully lose the weight no matter what I tried. Some weeks it felt like I was eating nothing and gaining weight. I also started to show signs of extreme exhaustion. Some dasI was sleeping 20 hours in a day and still feeling tired.
I went to my first Endo appointment in March 2013 and he gave me the more specific diagnosis of Hashi's, took some blood (6 vials), and told me he would send me a letter with more information. The letter I later received told me to take .150 levothyroxine 6 days a week (not taking it on Sunday).
I went back for my first follow up visit this past week as he didnt want to see me for three months. This time I had done some research and had questions to ask: supplements?, dark green veggies?, iodine?, gluten?. BMR?, Calories?. The doctor feels my thyroid an asks how I have been feeling. I tell him I still feel tired some and that I am still gaining weight ( I have gone from a size 6 to a size 14 in 2 years). He tells me that he doesnt want to adjust my meds because my TSH is in the normal range and then starts to leave the room. I call out telling him I want to talk about my weight issues an without even looking at me he says, "thats a 3 day seminar...eat more lettuce" and walks out of the room.
Needless to say I am pissed! This is a terrible response for a doctor to have and I am appalled that he wouldnt take the time to have a discussion with me about my health, especially since I was prepared with questions to ask.
I know most Endos generally specialize in Diabetes, but does anyone have an Endo that specialized in Thyroid issues? How did you find your doctor? How many doctors did you try before you found one that would listen and work with you? I am not one to normally doctor hop. I like my doctors to be familiar with me,but I want someone who cares about my health and knows alot about thyroid health.
,
So I am 30 (or will be in a week), newly married, and living in rural Arkansas. I have always bruised easily and been very cold natured, Three years ago my anxiety got pretty bad and I was put on celexa. In 2010 and 2011 I gained a little weight (from 140 to 170). In late 2011 / early 2012 I lost 25 lbs. In mid 2012 i was in a significant car wreck and and life got crazy for a few months and then I got married in October.
My husband finally convinced me to go to the doctor in May of 2012. My GP diagnosed me with Hypo and started treating me with .25 levothyroxine. My prescription gradually kept going up and a year later I was still having symptoms and I was tired of playing games with my GP, so I asked for a recommendation to an Endo.
Side note: When I got married I barely was able to wear my wedding dress that I bought in January of 2012 ( it was prob. at least 1 if not 2 sizes two small) because I had gained all my weight back and then some and was no longer able to successfully lose the weight no matter what I tried. Some weeks it felt like I was eating nothing and gaining weight. I also started to show signs of extreme exhaustion. Some dasI was sleeping 20 hours in a day and still feeling tired.
I went to my first Endo appointment in March 2013 and he gave me the more specific diagnosis of Hashi's, took some blood (6 vials), and told me he would send me a letter with more information. The letter I later received told me to take .150 levothyroxine 6 days a week (not taking it on Sunday).
I went back for my first follow up visit this past week as he didnt want to see me for three months. This time I had done some research and had questions to ask: supplements?, dark green veggies?, iodine?, gluten?. BMR?, Calories?. The doctor feels my thyroid an asks how I have been feeling. I tell him I still feel tired some and that I am still gaining weight ( I have gone from a size 6 to a size 14 in 2 years). He tells me that he doesnt want to adjust my meds because my TSH is in the normal range and then starts to leave the room. I call out telling him I want to talk about my weight issues an without even looking at me he says, "thats a 3 day seminar...eat more lettuce" and walks out of the room.
Needless to say I am pissed! This is a terrible response for a doctor to have and I am appalled that he wouldnt take the time to have a discussion with me about my health, especially since I was prepared with questions to ask.
I know most Endos generally specialize in Diabetes, but does anyone have an Endo that specialized in Thyroid issues? How did you find your doctor? How many doctors did you try before you found one that would listen and work with you? I am not one to normally doctor hop. I like my doctors to be familiar with me,but I want someone who cares about my health and knows alot about thyroid health.
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Replies
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Yuck, that's a horrible response from him! Definitely agree that I'd try to find someone new. That said, from my experience with endos and that of other friends, I feel like they are generally kind of dry people, not the best at listening--it's more a very mathematical "your blood results were X so we'll jack your meds up or down by this much and come back and see me in Y number of months".
Can you ask your GP for another recommendation, telling him why you're not happy with this guy? I'd also consider just sticking with the GP for treatment, actually, now that you've got the more detailed bloodwork done--dialing in your meds takes a long time and while you may feel like he was playing games, I think that's sort of how they do it with the meds (a year is long, but I'd say 6 months or so is not abnormal). Are you happy with how your GP listens to you about symptoms? I went to an endo while I was still symptomatic, but now that I've got things under control I just let my GP handle it.0 -
My Story:
,
So I am 30 (or will be in a week), newly married, and living in rural Arkansas. I have always bruised easily and been very cold natured, Three years ago my anxiety got pretty bad and I was put on celexa. In 2010 and 2011 I gained a little weight (from 140 to 170). In late 2011 / early 2012 I lost 25 lbs. In mid 2012 i was in a significant car wreck and and life got crazy for a few months and then I got married in October.
My husband finally convinced me to go to the doctor in May of 2012. My GP diagnosed me with Hypo and started treating me with .25 levothyroxine. My prescription gradually kept going up and a year later I was still having symptoms and I was tired of playing games with my GP, so I asked for a recommendation to an Endo.
Side note: When I got married I barely was able to wear my wedding dress that I bought in January of 2012 ( it was prob. at least 1 if not 2 sizes two small) because I had gained all my weight back and then some and was no longer able to successfully lose the weight no matter what I tried. Some weeks it felt like I was eating nothing and gaining weight. I also started to show signs of extreme exhaustion. Some dasI was sleeping 20 hours in a day and still feeling tired.
I went to my first Endo appointment in March 2013 and he gave me the more specific diagnosis of Hashi's, took some blood (6 vials), and told me he would send me a letter with more information. The letter I later received told me to take .150 levothyroxine 6 days a week (not taking it on Sunday).
I went back for my first follow up visit this past week as he didnt want to see me for three months. This time I had done some research and had questions to ask: supplements?, dark green veggies?, iodine?, gluten?. BMR?, Calories?. The doctor feels my thyroid an asks how I have been feeling. I tell him I still feel tired some and that I am still gaining weight ( I have gone from a size 6 to a size 14 in 2 years). He tells me that he doesnt want to adjust my meds because my TSH is in the normal range and then starts to leave the room. I call out telling him I want to talk about my weight issues an without even looking at me he says, "thats a 3 day seminar...eat more lettuce" and walks out of the room.
Needless to say I am pissed! This is a terrible response for a doctor to have and I am appalled that he wouldnt take the time to have a discussion with me about my health, especially since I was prepared with questions to ask.
I know most Endos generally specialize in Diabetes, but does anyone have an Endo that specialized in Thyroid issues? How did you find your doctor? How many doctors did you try before you found one that would listen and work with you? I am not one to normally doctor hop. I like my doctors to be familiar with me,but I want someone who cares about my health and knows alot about thyroid health.
I suspect that he just didn't have the time to have a discussion of the whole thing, as metabolic problems are INCREDIBLY complex. There are many hormones and other factors that influence gain of body fat.
There is the problem of leptin-resistance. Women are naturally more predisposed to having it as we have 2 to 3 times the amount of circulating leptin at the same body fat level as men. With an improper diet (one containing too much sugar and simple carbohydrates) our cells get exposed to so much leptin that they eventually become tired of it and no longer respond to it. Virtually all obese women have leptin resistance (the hormone is produced by our fat cells). Female high performance athletes, because of their low level of body fat, are sometimes deficient in leptin--but that is, of course, a rare exception. Here is a link to a pretty good discussion of it: http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/feb2009_Irvingia-Understanding-the-Risks-of-Leptin-Resistance_01.htm
Leptin resistance precedes and predicts insulin resistance, which is what happens when leptin resistance is not arrested and reversed. Once you've crossed over into insulin resistance, then you have even more health woes.
Estrogen is a problem because it does two things: 1) Estrogen blocks the uptake of iodine (and we tend not to get enough anyway) and 2) it makes thyroid hormone less effective at the cellular level. 3) If you are on the birth control pill, the synthetic progestins that it contains will not have the same effect in opposing estrogen as what your own natural supply of progesterone would. When you stop ovulation (which is what the b.c. pill was designed to do) you stop the production of natural progesterone (which normally peaks each month at the time of ovulation--no ovulation, no natural progesterone). What that means is that your estrogen is running unopposed and revving up your fat production. 4) Estrogen also raises your blood sugar so your body has to do something with any blood sugar that it doesn't need (the reason why exercise is important--it lowers both blood glucose AND estrogen). You can guess what happens then---your body calls out the "insulin troops" and converts the excess glucose into fats and shoves it into your fat cells. In order to combat this discouraging state of affairs, a lower carbohydrate diet is essential. Cutting out sugar and simple carbs will go a lot of the way toward keeping your blood sugar down. Exercise is, of course, indispensable for that purpose as well. Walking is about as good as any exercise for that purpose--especially if you do it after each meal. Walking at a moderate pace for ten minutes after each meal will do much more to keep your blood sugar in check than an hour of cardio twice a week at the gym.
And that brings us to minerals. Because we don't eat our vegetables and fruits, magnesium deficiency is quite common. I believe that the "depression epidemic" is a result of widespread magnesium deficiency. Without proper serum levels of magnesium, you cannot convert the thyroxine (T-4) you are taking to the active form of the hormone T-3. Your blood levels could thus be sufficient and your TSH level will be normal but, if you are deficient in magnesium, you will still be clinically hypothyroid. Magnesium ions in the blood are also essential for the energy transport system to the mitochondria (translation: you will feel tired and sluggish). There is also the problem of stress. Our bodies dump magnesium (among other nutrients) when we are under stress. There is a product called magnesium "oil"--but it is not really oil. It is applied to the skin after a shower or bath. It is magnesium chloride, derived from concentrated sea water and it has an "oily" feel when applied to the skin (never use it undiluted--follow the package directions--it isn't particularly harmful undiluted but it has an unpleasant sting to it if you use it undiluted). The great thing about magnesium is that you will absorb it right through your skin and you avoid the gastric problems inherent in oral supplements. Some people can handle oral supplements, other people not.
That brings us to adiponectin. Adiponectin causes your body to burn fat for energy. Sufficient levels of magnesium (and other nutrients) are essential to keep adiponectin levels where they should be. That is why it is important to eat very well--especially on calorie-restriction. Most women end diets in a malnourished state, guaranteeing regain as their bodies desperately search for nutrients to rebuild health.
ETA: I forgot that you mentioned being on Celexa: "...Endocrine side effects including hypothyroidism, goiter, and gynecomastia have rarely been reported. Several cases of the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone have been reported. Three cases of hyponatremia secondary to the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone have also been reported. Prolactinemia has been reported to be temporally associated with citalopram (the active ingredient contained in Celexa) treatment..." SSRIs (Celexa is an SSRI) are notorious for causing weight gain. Seek help for tapering off of it, if you choose to do so.
There is also the problem of fluoridated water. Fluoride fills the thyroid receptor sites for iodine. Drinking non-fluoridated water is essential for those with thyroid problems.0 -
Go to the facebook page called Thyroid Sexy and check the doctor list in the notes section. Hopefully there will be one listed for your area. I believe there is also a list on the Stop the Thyroid Madness webpage as well.
Even if that doc was pressed for time, that is NO excuse to be rude to you and dismiss your problem.0
